Ancestral homelands under attack?

Abductions and killings by ISIL fighters in Syria and Iraq threaten ancient minorities.

Last July, ISIL issued a decree to the dwindling population of Christians in eastern Syria and northern Iraq, ordering them to convert to Islam or pay a special religious levy.

And if they did not, "there is nothing to give them but the sword", the group said.

Since then, ISIL has released a trademark video showing the apparent beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya.

At least 70 Christians have also been reported abducted in northeastern Syria. And they are not alone.

The unfolding conflict in the region is forcing thousands of Christians and other minority groups to leave their ancestral homelands, where they had co-existed with other religious communities for nearly 2,000 years.

It has moved one commentator to observe that "we are watching a living history and all that comprises disappear".

Inside Story asks: Is a rich tapestry of history at risk of being lost in the cradle of civilisation?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests

Gerard Russell - a writer on ISIL and religious minorities, and a former British and UN diplomat.

Renad Mansour - a scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center, and fellow at the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies.

Philip Luther - director of the Middle East and North Africa programme for Amnesty International.